After I Saw My Groundhog Shadow

author's note:

Happy Groundhog Day to all the groundhogs out there.


AFTER I SAW MY GROUNDHOG SHADOW

If gray clouds cover the sky
on Groundhog Day
the groundhog won't see his shadow
and so, feel safe
to remain above ground--
to feed, to frolic

just as I did
in my dim Spring.

On the other hand
if the sun cuts through the clouds
then his shadow will be revealed
and our furry friend
will retreat to his dark den--

afraid, as I once was
of that creature unknown.

But in time, he’ll return
just as I did:

I guess we can't forget
the glory to be found in sunlight--
we want to see--
even if
what we witness frightens us
or pains our eyes.

Maybe...or maybe
we begin to worry--
wondering if

that shadowy something
has followed us back inside
and still lurks--
hidden in the dark.

So we then decide:
hard open light is actually safer
than the shelter of soft darkness.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

Digging Up (or: Why I Persist)

author's note:

I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let's dig it
     -- from "Grazing in the Grass" by The Friends of Distinction


DIGGING UP (or: WHY I PERSIST)

In sad frustration
I finally gave up
trying to jump--
jump up to heaven:

I just kept coming back down.

However
the desire for more
still agitated me without mercy

so
to release the impulse
I began to dig down
into the stubborn ground

and persist to this day
though the plunge of the shovel
often pains me as the blade cuts into
old abscessed wounds.

Yes, light may burst from the break
but after the flash, I feel diminished
because I’ve seen my blindness again

yet I persist

though in the dimness I often wonder
if the gold I've discovered
is really only costume jewelry.

Yet I persist and why not?--

this mound of dirt I’m piling up
is a pyramid rising, is it not?

Well, maybe yes, but maybe not
in any case, I will persist--because
even if I never find the mother lode
at least, I've found purpose
through this work

and anyway, I believe

if we want a glorious life
we must suffer the pain of healing--
we must struggle to open our eyes
and match doubt with faith

and anyway

you can't fall down
when you're digging.

Everywhere, everywhere--
so many people jumping.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
the truth of the dream: poetry ebook

She Said

author's note:

Someone once asked if I ever wrote love poems.

They're all love poems.


SHE SAID

When I offered
to cross a hundred rivers
just to win a pink ribbon for her

she said

you want to break your heart out
by worshipping a dream cloud.

Well, you can also free
your heart
by trying to lift up
the children in the mud
(which is: everyone--
  including you).

She said

both ways of love allow one
to bow in humility

both ways of love allow one
to expand with the upsurge
of too much feeling

but the dream love
pulls you up
only for the moment
of its gust

whereas the other love
can lead to many great steps
on your long steady climb.

She said

you believe
swimming a hundred rivers
will raise you to the mythic.

Well, you can still live a myth
by pretending
your penknife is a sword
and your flashlight: a guiding torch
struck by a lightning bolt.

And so I did, and so
I now blaze
with sword and torch
on this climb

except when I forget
what she said
as the door closed:

stop, ever so often
and pretend
your sword is a penknife
and your torch, a flashlight--
otherwise

you will trip
over your own myth.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
myth steps: poetry ebook

Why Should I?

author's note:

Unless someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
        -- Dr. Seuss


WHY SHOULD I?

Why should I act?

Why should I stand?

I can't stop cyclopes
from crushing priceless jewels into dust

which sirens then sell--
denying the high interest rate.

Why speak up?--

if heard, I'll be skunked
by celebrated psychopaths using ill-logic

and many reasonable people
who seem quite congenial
will hang their shadows on me
for no true reason.

I can avoid so much pain
if I brake before I begin

yes but no--
by now, I know:

the frustration
of rising and losing
will feel better than
the malaise of sitting and sinking

after all...

if I stand, I can dance--dance
even as I weep

along with many other dancers

and as we share our tears
we will open
to the comforting soul.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
Survival: poetry ebook